MMBA

NOTICE: All posts made within this forum are the opinion and responsibility of
the individual making the post and do not necessarily represent the opinions or stance of the MMBA.
Questions or comments about individual posts should be directed to the post author(s).
Questions about the MMBA itself may be directed to info@mmba.org.

I would have no doubt that a lot of those trails crisscrossing the area are deer trails. If they have been stewarding that area for years why the problem now with traffic in that area when its been going on for probably the same amount of time ? They have to know that bikers don't go off trail and use that trail only for entry and exit. Right ? Somebody have a hidden agenda possibly ? A hidden "threat" ?Anything beyond educational signage is bs. Especially if the signage is a bike with a line though it ? Because if that's the case they better have a sign with a line going through a hiker etc. etc. Then shoot any deer that dares trample there way through that prairie .

G.Cook wrote:I would have no doubt that a lot of those trails crisscrossing the area are deer trails. If they have been stewarding that area for years why the problem now with traffic in that area when its been going on for probably the same amount of time ? They have to know that bikers don't go off trail and use that trail only for entry and exit. Right ? Somebody have a hidden agenda possibly ? A hidden "threat" ?Anything beyond educational signage is bs. Especially if the signage is a bike with a line though it ? Because if that's the case they better have a sign with a line going through a hiker etc. etc. Then shoot any deer that dares trample there way through that prairie .

I don't want to get in the way of a good conspiracy theory but I don't see a hidden agenda here. One of the trails I saw looked like it was deer traffic. I told Laurel and the park manager so. Further investigation is needed. (boots on the ground)

My theory is this; the volunteers see bikes while they are out there, so they assume bikers are the culprits.

When this was first brought to my attention the reports pointed toward trail construction taking place, so the DNR was concerned. Rightly so! This seems not to not to be the case. Educational signage seems to be the next step. That we are concerned pleases the park. All is well, right?

I was told many moons ago that these were snowmobile trails and evidence I've seen in the past seems to back this up. I recon'd one of the spurs this spring since it looked to have recent activity. The trail is 4ft wide and showed signs of motor vehicle traffic. I found a meadow that had a lot of cutting that had been done in the grassy areas. The trimmings were stacked up nice and the area was heavily flagged. I suspected DNR involvement as bandits don't usually stack and flag so openly. I haven't taken a look to see what progress was ever made beyond that. Nothing to draw a biker.

Could one DNR hand not know what the other is doing?

Scott

“All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity.”
Gordie Howe

That is not a threat for environment especially for the DENR if there is no trees or species have been cut or killed. But in this situation I do not think that species and trees are not involved, they are being cut to make the life of hikers or bikers more comfortable.

All of these trails in that area have been there sense the late 70's....at least. I have hiked, biked, and snowmobiled all of those trails for as long as I can remember. The area where the mall sits now used to be a big area for local dirt bikers and offroaders back in the 80's and 90's (trespassing of course) some of the traffic overflowed onto the state land this created some trails, some people not knowing where the boundary between the private property and state land was. A lot was from hunting as well, I can remember the trails being covered in shotgun shells....me and my sister would pick them all up while hiking with dad and bring em home....mom was pi$$ed!! For the most part 99% of those trails have remained the same for over 30 years.

The JCP parking lot just makes it more convenient for "more" people access the trail. For those of us that live on the west end of town, it makes no sense to drive all the way to the east side of town, to access the park entrance and then drive half way back toward the west side of town to the trail head......with gas at $4.00 a gallon, for me that's 8 miles vs 20 miles and has nothing to do with a park pass, it is just easier.

Only thing I can say is respect this as a mall parking lot. I have seen people strip down nude, put on their riding gear and hit the trail....the mall security frowns on this. Keep it clean and use it for what it is. Talking to security a few times they said they don't mind anyone parking there and using that as a staging area to ride from as long as no one is doing anything wrong, but if complaints are made they will have to start kicking people out.